Sharing in the Sufferings of Christ -- Easter Reflection Part Two
I have been pondering how it is even possible for a modern mortal to ‘share in the sufferings of Christ’.
It is one thing to recall the history of early church persecution, 'the blood of the saints that was the seed of the church'. And it seems that many of the exhortations to endure suffering in Scripture are directly related to the hardship of the church and the cause of the Gospel of Christ. These are the hero-saints of which the world was unworthy (Heb. 11:38).
Especially when I compare that to my sufferings with a chronic illness: years living with a silly vortex of trials which constantly surprises in some fresh way with the same old symptoms (deep pain and sheer fatigue, troubled sleep, stomach troubles, financial strains, concerns about the future, etc.), so that once again one is caught muttering “Why me?” and feeling immature. How do my aches and anxieties possibly compare to His sacred stripes? How can they in some way be spiritual? I am no martyr. I have not yet been healed. I wonder if my Christian friends know what to do with me anymore. Why is it that everyone who gets depressed feels so alone?
It is one thing to recall the history of early church persecution, 'the blood of the saints that was the seed of the church'. And it seems that many of the exhortations to endure suffering in Scripture are directly related to the hardship of the church and the cause of the Gospel of Christ. These are the hero-saints of which the world was unworthy (Heb. 11:38).
Especially when I compare that to my sufferings with a chronic illness: years living with a silly vortex of trials which constantly surprises in some fresh way with the same old symptoms (deep pain and sheer fatigue, troubled sleep, stomach troubles, financial strains, concerns about the future, etc.), so that once again one is caught muttering “Why me?” and feeling immature. How do my aches and anxieties possibly compare to His sacred stripes? How can they in some way be spiritual? I am no martyr. I have not yet been healed. I wonder if my Christian friends know what to do with me anymore. Why is it that everyone who gets depressed feels so alone?
Here’s what Jesus might suggest (from last post):
'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'
As a Christian, I can of course see the ultimate merit of suffering creating vast room in my life for more of Christ – a transformation of character, as the once seemingly important things that occupied life are stripped away. One becomes better or bitter. More gentle, more patient; more reflective and thankful. ...Or not. This is the great truth that our choices have eternal consequences.
I considered Easter earlier and more slowly this time around, seeing that Christ's first steps towards the Cross began at Gethsemane Garden. Before his friends fled and church failed Him, we find Jesus wondering, worrying about His future – asking that ‘the cup’ might be removed. Perhaps, maybe.
In the ‘torments of (erroneous) hope’ C.S. Lewis refers to the quite human act of grieving over the loss the expectations (The Business of Heaven, Apr.5). Jesus dropped sweats of blood over this plea, a medical indicator of great anxiety and distress. Lewis emphasizes that surely at this point if anywhere, this is 'very Man'. Indeed, He who came to give us Life has suffered my kind of life, He who is 'very God' has lived out the common trials of this earthly life with perfect grace and infused it with dignity.
Therefore, the great comfort to me (and I hope to you this Easter), is that we really can relate to His sufferings, just as He can to ours in our time of darkness.
Therefore, the great comfort to me (and I hope to you this Easter), is that we really can relate to His sufferings, just as He can to ours in our time of darkness.
We can even learn to rejoice in suffering when we think of Christ in the midst of our sufferings. ‘Suffering with Christ’ has a mysterious power to draw into deeper fellowship with Christ. As a result, we are not abandoned nor do we lose hope, because the focus has shifted from the suffering to Christ. In Christ we rejoice.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
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